First Impressions
by xHalosandwings
Summary: Request for JessicaHardy. Cody Rhodes is new to Smackdown, and doesn't expect to get such a frosty reception from the Women's Champion. He soon discovers, however, there's more than meets the eye. Cody/Michelle.


A request for JessicaHardy. I love receiving one-shot requests, so if anyone has any, send 'em my way!  
At first, I had great inspiration for this, but then I got writers block, but all it took was a little help from my favourite diva Natalya to reinspire me :)  
I'm quite happy with how this turned out, but I've never wrote a Cody/Michelle fic before, so I hope Jessica and everyone else enjoys this.

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**FIRST IMPRESSIONS **

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Starting over again wouldn't be easy.

As Cody Rhodes dragged his suitcase into the arena, he thought back to his first night on Raw. It hadn't exactly gone successfully, what with Randy Orton slapping his dad, and the whole roster referring to him as 'Dusty's kid'. Cody was so much more than that, because whether he was the American Dream's son or not, he was destined to be a star in the wrestling industry. He was a naturally gifted athlete in his own right; not to mention he was much better looking than daddy.

"Cody!" The young superstar turned his head to see that Smackdown general manager Teddy Long was following him into the arena. "Welcome to Smackdown, player." Cody mentally rolled his eyes. He thought the way he spoke was an act.

Apparently this wasn't the case.

"Glad to be here," He told Teddy, although he wasn't entirely sure if he was. Raw had been his home for three years, and he'd made friends there; Ted DiBiase was now his best buddy, and he'd even managed to patch things up with Randy.

"You've got a match against John Morrison tonight," Teddy continued, before heading in the opposite direction towards his office. "Getcha game face on!" Cody smiled, and waited until Teddy was out of site.

Cody knew John Morrison was going to be a tough competitor, and a part of him was relieved the 'Shaman of Sexy' was moving to Monday nights; he already had enough competition to contend with and he didn't need any more. Most people saw moving to Smackdown as a demotion, but Cody? He saw it as a challenge. Ambition drove him, and he was looking forward to eliminating everyone on Smackdown until he got the world title opportunity he so badly desired, and was destined for-

"Ahh!" There was a shrill shriek, and Cody realised he'd knocked someone over. Judging from the reaction, it had to be a woman.

"Crap, I'm sorry." Cody apologized quickly, holding out a hand.

The woman didn't accept this gesture, instead using her own hands to push herself up off the floor. As she straightened up, and Cody realised he'd just knocked over Michelle McCool.

Most people knew that in the WWE, the divas held very little respect and were seen as nothing more than eye candy. But Michelle McCool was different. She was dating Mark Callaway, who held _a lot_ of backstage power. No-one messed with Michelle, because if they did, they'd have Mark to answer to. Besides, even without Mark, Michelle was one of the most talented divas on the roster. That 'sexy, smart, powerful' thing was the perfect description of her, but having never been on the same brand as her, he hadn't realised just how beautiful she was.

Her tousled blonde locks fell just below her shoulders, framing her attractive face, the main features being her blue, kohl-outlined eyes and nude, glossy lips. She was long and lean, much more so in real life than she looked on TV, and this was only accentuated by a pair of skinny jeans, and slim-fitting leather jacket and knee-length boots.

"Watch where you're going," Michelle muttered, brushing herself down.

"I said I was sorry," Cody shrugged. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Michelle responded, before looking down at the bulky watch that rested on her slender wrist. "I don't have time for this," She said, before walking off down the hall.

Was everyone on Smackdown going to be this unfriendly?

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"Seriously, Mark," Michelle didn't have the hands to hold her cell phone, as she unpacked her ring gear from its holdall, so the phone was jammed between her shoulder and her ear. "It was nothing...we were just hanging out-"

It had taken Michelle a while to realise that Mark was the jealous type, but now she knew, it was getting ridiculous. A group of superstars and divas had gone out to one of the clubs in the town they were stopping in, and someone had taken a photo of Michelle and Adam 'Edge' Copeland – before he was drafted to Raw – and the photo ended up on one of those wrestling websites. Having worked with Adam for years, Mark knew all about his playboy reputation, and instantly got the wrong idea. Michelle understood him not trusting Adam, but didn't he trust her?

"_You don't know what Adam's like," _Mark continued, making her feel like a schoolgirl getting a grilling from one of her teachers. _"You may not have thought it meant anything, but-"_

"It meant nothing!" Michelle lowered her voice, as she realised the other divas in the locker room were now pretending not to be eavesdropping, however it was pointless, as Mark had now hung up the phone.

She turned around to see all the divas with their eyes on Michelle. Tiffany and Smackdown's newest diva Kelly-Kelly each had an earphone and were listening to Kelly's iPod, Beth Phoenix was lifting weights, and Natalya wasn't even doing anything else, not hiding her stare.

"What?" Michelle scowled at the divas, however mostly at Natalya.

Natalya shook her head pityingly – despite being the younger of the two - and stepped towards Michelle, "Not all of us want to hear your business, honey." She sighed, twirling her pink hairs around her fingers.

"So stop eavesdropping,"

"Keep your voice down and maybe we will."

The two divas were nose-to-nose now, and the other divas could sense a fight coming, and began weighing up who'd win; Natalya definitely had the strength advantage, but Michelle was taller, plus she had Layla as back up. Kelly turned off the iPod, and Beth put down her weights and was all ready to come in and play mediator. She didn't have to; however, as the locker room door opened, and in came Cody Rhodes.

He shuffled nervously on the spot for a moment, realising he was in the wrong locker room. Not only that, but he was well aware he'd stumbled upon a bad situation. "I was the looking for the men's locker room-"

"Down the hall, first door on the right," Natalya turned her head slightly, however refused to take her eyes off of Michelle. What with the pair both being multi-generation superstars, Cody and Natalya were pretty good friends.

"Thanks," Cody turned to walk out of the locker room, but he didn't, instead hovering in the doorway. Should he stop the impending fight, or should he just let it happen, or-

"Why're you still here, Rhodes?" Michelle snapped, finally turning away from Natalya to look at Cody. It was rare that Cody felt threatened by a woman, but Michelle was a mean chick. "Go find somewhere else to play."

Cody made his decision; Michelle was a bitch.

Before he could even respond to Michelle's rude comment, the first signs of a fight began. Natalya came at Michelle from behind and grabbed a handful of Michelle's blonde hair, and yanked it, causing the blonde to cry out in pain. "Get off me!" Michelle screeched, stunned by what had just happened.

"Say you're sorry!" Natalya demanded, continuing to tug at Michelle. Beth came in to hold Natalya back, but the Dungeon Diva wasn't giving up.

"You're a freak!" Michelle yelled in response, but Natalya only tugged even tighter. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Cody!" Natalya released her grip, and walked back towards her spot on the bench, a smug grin on her face. She didn't need to say anything else; she knew she'd won the battle. "Why're you still here?" Michelle's ego had definitely taken a beating, and she was going to take it out on the nearest person to her; unfortunately for Cody, that happened to be him.

Cody shook his head, and without a word, he left the locker room. This girl was unnecessary drama.

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"Great match,"

Looking up from his iPod, Cody realised he was no longer alone in catering. The person standing above him was the last person he expected to see; Michelle McCool. She looked different to earlier; she was now wearing her blue ring-attire, with a black hooded sweatshirt over the top, and her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail. She looked sweeter, more relaxed. She was even smiling.

"Thanks," He responded, cautious as to why she was now being friendly towards him. "Yours too."

Her head definitely had not been in the game; she called Mark back before her match, and the conversation did not go how she had planned. To say they were going through a rough patch would be an understatement. They were over, and oddly enough, Michelle wasn't that disappointed. "But I lost."

"Doesn't mean it was a bad match," Cody shrugged.

"What're you listening to?"

"Huh?"

"Your iPod," She smiled, signalling down at the small device that sat on the table in front of him. Picking it up, Michelle smiled at the song on the screen. It was then he realised he was listening to his guilty pleasure; the eighties classic 'The Warrior' by Scandal.

"I'm not even going to defend it; it's a classic." Cody smiled, taking out his earphones, and putting the iPod in his pocket.

Silence fell, and Michelle nervously tapped her manicured fingers against the hard surface of the table. "I'm sorry about earlier." She apologized, not even aware of the fact her knees were brushing against hers. "Some stuff went down that shouldn't have, and I took it out on you. That wasn't right of me."

"It's fine-"

"No, it's not. You probably think I'm a total bitch now," Michelle laughed.

"I don't, because you're here now, apologizing." Cody said. "Sometime's the hardest thing is sucking up your pride and admitting you were wrong. Believe me, I know."

"Can we start over?" There was a hopeful smile on Michelle's face. Cody didn't respond, instead he got up from his seat and left catering, leaving Michelle with a bemused look on her face. Does that mean he's still mad? But he just said he-

"Hey," She was no longer alone, as Cody was now stood behind her, a polite smile on his face. He held out a hand, "I'm new on Smackdown, and looking for the men's locker room."

"You're Cody Rhodes, right?" She was happy to go along with this charade, as she shook his hand. "I'm Michelle McCool."

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Please leave a **review** and tell me what you think :) Xx


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